Pop. 20,942. City in Leeds and Grenville Cs., on the St. Lawrence R. and Hwy 401 and C. Rds. 2 & 29,75 km NE of Kingston.

Connecticut-born William Buell settled in 1784 and donated land for a village green, thus making Brockville the only municipality in Ontario with a New England-type town square -- a courthouse surrounded by lawns with a church on each opposite comer.

First known as Buell's Bay, the name changed to Elizabethtown when the post office opened in 1789. The community was also known as Williamstown and Charles¬town and there was so much controversy over the names that for a time it was nicknamed Snarlington

During the War of 1812, the community was named Brockville to honour Gen. Sir Isaac Brock. At one time Brockville was said to have more millionaires per capita than any other place in Canada.

Hotel magnate George Boldt, who built a castle on one of the nearby Thousand Islands on the U.S. side, is credited -- along with his chef -- with having invented the Thousand Islands salad dressing here.

(The Thousand Islands is a misnomer: there are actually between 1,687 and 1,800 islands. They were divided by the British in 1825 into three groups: the Admiralty Group, the Fleet Group and the Navy Group.

Each major island was named after a British admiral, battle, or ship.) The world's largest muskie, weighing 31 kg, 426 gm, (69.13 Ibs) was caught in the area.

The city also has the oldest railway tunnel in Canada, built between 1854 and 1860 to carry the Brockville and Ottawa Railroad under the town to the riverfront.

It is no longer in use. In 1851, long-time Brockville resident James Morris became the first Canadian postmaster general.

He introduced the first Canadian postage stamps, standardized postal rates, and reduced the letter rate from 16 cents to five cents likely the first and last reduction ever made in Canadian postal rates.

Ogle Robert Gowan (1803-1876) founded the Grand Orange Lodge of British North America in 1830, a year after settling in Brockville.

He used his newspaper, the Brockville Statesman, to promote his political views.

Postcard above used with permission from A Great Lakes Treasury of Old Postcards 2007 Lorenzo Marcolin, MD 176 pp. For Copies call the Huronia Museum 705 526 2844 or email lmarcolin@aol.com